*𝕔𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝟠𝟛

-나는 그들의 것, 그들은 내 꺼야-

the banging on the door scared us both, our bodies jerking away from each other and i fell onto the floor, the sheets covering my body. seungcheol ran to get his boxer briefs, struggling to get them on.

if this were any other situation, i would be laughing at him, but the fear of who was at the door was overbearing, killing that side of me.

"hide in the bathroom," he whispered to me as he struggled and i did as he said.

after he successfully put on something, he ran to the door, opening it the slightest bit, preparing for the worst. i held in a breath without realizing it from the bathroom tub as i heard what he was doing.

but then, there was nothing. there was silence.

the only thing i could hear was my panting and the beating of my heart, it was like drums in my ears. the tension was killing me. i brought the sheets closer to my body, trembling.

"seungcheol," i whispered, standing up, only to fall back down when the door opened wide in front of me.

the sudden action scared me and made my knees weak, causing me to fall backward on the tub. i hissed at the pain at in my back, closing my eyes.

"areum?" a sweet voice call out.

i grabbed the sheets even tighter, opening my eyes the slightest bit, praying that it was who i thought it was.

"vernon?" i muttered. i felt him grab me by the sides of my arms and pick me up. "are you okay?" he looked rather scared and breathless. "y-yeah, i'm fine."

i looked at him with pure shock, "were you the one banging at the door?" i furrowed my eyebrows. "mingyu was in a hurry to find you guys," he chuckled lightly and proceeded to hug me as if it were the last time he was ever going to be able to hold me.

"o-oh," he wrapped his arms around me and i did the same, hoping the sheets wouldn't fall between us.

"you guys got here so fast," i muttered, placing one of my hands at the back of his head, playing with his blond locks.

"i should see the others too," i suggested, "yeah."

we didn't move an inch.

"let's just stay like this for a little while longer," he breathed, "yeah."

it was a moment of silence, the intimacy of being in each other's arms again felt euphoric. it hasn't even been that long since we left but it feels like an eternity for both of us. for all of us.

🌷

"guys?" i called out, waddling awkwardly out of the bathroom with the sheets.

they looked like they were talking in a hushed conversation, seriousness plastered all over their faces.

seungcheol had managed to put on a shirt by the looks of it. but the other two were dressed in suits, just like vernon was.

wonwoo and mingyu both turned to me, a bright smile appearing on mingyu's face. he ran to me and picked me up, spinning me around the room and kissing my lips, all in one moment.

he knew i would become flustered from his actions, but he didn't care, purposely teasing me.

but instead, a chuckled left me with a bright smile, matching his own. "i missed you too," i said as he put me down on the ground.

but the smile faded when i turned to wonwoo.

wonwoo had the usual cold face he always carried, the same pride too, but there was a hint of jealousy behind his cold eyes, bitter that he wasn't the one to come here with me.

"hi," i smiled at him, walking my way towards him. when i reached his towering body i looked up at him with the sweetest smile i could muster, hoping to see his smile.

"cover yourself," he placed his arms around me and pulled me close, his head placed on mine. "you stink of seungcheol," he whispered. "what do you expect?" i muttered back.

their presence felt so warm to me.

🌷

"are you sure it was them?" wonwoo asked with his hands on his waist, the same scowl on him again.

they were standing around the bed and i was sitting at the side, looking at a book that was in the drawer. when i realized just how vulnerable i was in those sheets i ran to the bathroom and changed back into my uniform.

"yes, they followed us for a while," he sat down on the bed. "we should change areum's name, make it as though she never existed so that they won't find her this time," vernon suggested as he walked to the desk, leaning on it.

"they probably found you guys through the school, she still uses the same name," seungcheol agreed.

"what are we waiting for? let's get out of here," mingyu walked by my side, placing his hand on my shoulder. "where will we go?" i closed the book and looked up at him.

i don't want to live my life like this.

i raised my eyebrows in concern at his statement. "somewhere they really won't find us," seungcheol stood and grabbed his bags. "i guess, we'll jump from hotel to hotel every night," mingyu extended his hands to me.

"for how long?"

"however long it takes until you're safe."

🌷

we checked out of the motel and left in our cars. the hotel had the same eerie vibe it had from when we arrived, just seeing the creepy front lady sent shivers down my spine.

we drove back into the city, taking hours to reach the tunnel we went through. we didn't get to see much of the small town, but from afar it looked like a cute place to live, it was lively with many people in the streets, all of them looked like they'd known each other for years.

i turned my head to the person sitting next to me, he looked so tired, restless even.

"wonu?" i called him.

he hummed at the sound of his name, but he didn't tear his gaze from the window and the people outside.

"look at me," i said. he took a moment before he even responded to my request, but he eventually turned to me, his stare landing on my eyes.

he had deep, dark bags under his eyes making him took weary. my hands made their way to his cheeks, my fingers tracing his cheekbones to the scar over his eye. "why do you look so tired?" i muttered with a pout.

"don't worry about it," he scowled, not pulling away from myhands.

"but-"

"areum, i said don't worry about it," he repeated in a softer voice, his hands going to my wrists and gently holding them.

but, i'm worried about you.

even though my back was turned, i could feel mingyu's gaze fall on my back, glaring daggers at us. he cleared his throat and spoke, "we're almost to the hotel."

🌷

the moment seungcheol parked, all four of them were out of the car, looking at anything suspicious around us.

wonwoo extended his hand towards me and i took it once i was out of the car as well.

"can't they just follow the license plate?" i muttered out loud as i looked at the back of the car. "yes, they can," he said, "that's why we're ditching it."

"you're going to ditch a nice car, just like that?" i waved my hand to point at the car, taken aback at wonwoo's words. "we have to," he walked ahead of me, making me follow suit.

b-but! it's a nice car!

i looked back at the vehicle, still baffled.

other people would kill to have such a nice car.

🌷

after they checked in at the front with false names we went to our rooms. seungcheol had thought ahead and had previously prepared fake id's and fake passports before we even got to london; he was carrying them in his bag.

he said he always hoped for the best but prepared for the worst.

we checked into two different rooms; vernon and mingyu in one and seungcheol and wonwoo in the other, but since i followed wonwoo the entire time, they decided i would sleep in their room.

just their mere presence made me feel happy. i enjoyed my time with seungcheol, but i was missing all of them so much.

"i'll be right back. i'm going to check something with vernon," seungcheol stepped out of the room, leaving his bag on one of the beds.

compared to the motel we stayed at yesterday, this place was paradise. it was actually a two-star hotel, but it was much better than the other place; at night i saw a cockroach on the wall... not fun.

i watched as wonwoo closed all the windows, darkness filling the entire room. after a few minutes, my eyes adjusted and i was able to see him walking around the room, looking under the beds, the desks, and anywhere there would be a camera.

how come i never knew people put cameras in hotels? i thought to myself, my eyes squinting to see in the darkness.

after he looked around for a while, he stood in the middle of the room, letting out a deep sigh, looking around to see if he missed something. when he realized there was nothing more, he turned to me.

there was hunger and lust in his eyes like he could take me in this very moment, his eyes glowing red in the darkness, the only thing that was visible in it. i sat there waiting for him to make a move. anything.

but i am an impatient person, always have been. so i stood up, turned on a lamp, and walked towards him. my hands automatically went to his shoulders, pulling him into a hug.

he didn't react, all he did was look down at me.

"why do you look so tired?" i muttered into his chest. "you look so tired," i repeated.

"i was worried about you."

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